The conventional progressive wisdom is that the Trump Administration will be bad for cities and for transit users. But in recent decades, a unified Republican government has been better for public transit than a divided government.

An efficient and equitable transport system must be diverse to serve diverse travel demands. Planners need better tools to quantify and communicate the benefits of walking, cycling and public transit to sometimes skeptical decision makers.

Says Lynch, "A century ago, only 10 percent of it was considered recoverable, but improvements in technology should allow us to recover some 35 percent - another 2.5 trillion barrels - in an economically viable way. And this doesn't even include such potential sources as tar sands, which in time we may be able to efficiently tap."

Lynch also claims that new sources in Latin America, Africa and the Dakotas will ensure that prices are kept low and the U.S. is not beholden to the Middle East for supply.

"Like many Malthusian beliefs, peak oil theory has been promoted by a motivated group of scientists and laymen who base their conclusions on poor analyses of data and misinterpretations of technical material."

Planning: A professional practice and an academic study focused on the future of built environments and connected natural environments—from the smallest towns to the largest cities and everything in between.

Planetizen: The independent resource for people passionate about planning and related fields.